RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Watching Lucy George pitch in the circle is like watching a maestro conduct an orchestra. And like a true maestro, George is a master of her art.
Fluid and effortless in her motion, she uses every inch of her six-foot frame to make the ball dart, drop and curve with devastating results. For good measure, she also can deliver a rise ball that explodes out of her right hand.
The results have been eye popping and George has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the Class of 2027.
But there was a time when none of this seemed possible.
She began playing recreation league softball at age seven but quit after only one year. But her father, Brandon George, made a deal that enabled her to return to the softball field.
“I played it for one year when I was seven, and I didn’t like it at all. Like I hated softball. So, I quit,” recalled George. “And then I was like, okay, I’m going to try it again when I was nine. And then I would only play if my dad was the coach. So, he coached that year, but we didn’t have a pitcher. So, he would only coach if I pitched.”
And a star was born.
“Having my dad there helped a lot. It made me more comfortable because I knew what I needed to do in each game.”
George, who was the 11th-ranked pitcher, and 16th overall, in the Class of 2027 Extra Elite 100 last season, has grown to not only love the sport of softball but also appreciate the genetic gifts she has been given.
Appreciate those genetic gifts, not love them.
George began growing at an early age and the freshman is six-foot tall and still growing.
“I’ve always been tall. I just constantly grew and I’m still growing, but I don’t like being tall.”
But she understands the value and advantage it provides her in the circle.
“I mean you just look at it. Anybody who looks at me, it’s just different. You know, not everybody’s six-foot tall.”
While her height has aided her in the circle it’s not what makes her great. That comes from an underdog mentality and always striving for perfection.
“I played on teams where we were always seen as the underdog, where we weren’t supposed to win. People didn’t see us as winning, so when we pulled through and we won the game that was always my favorite part.”
Last summer, while competing for the Beverly Bandits Premier Hardin, she was thrust into a start after the scheduled starter was injured.
“We weren’t expected to win that game, but we did. And I pretty much did that all summer. Going to a higher-level team, I just realized that like, oh, okay, I actually know how to pitch.”
When she takes to the circle these days, her team is not often seen as an underdog. Instead, she relies on an unrelenting pursuit of perfection.
George is playing her first season of high school softball this year for Western High School in Russiaville, Ind. Her debut featured two scoreless innings in relief with five strikeouts. Her next appearance was a start where she threw a perfect game and struck out 14 of the 15 batters she faced.
“I knew I needed to prove myself. I needed to restart because it’s a new coach this year. So, I knew I needed to prove myself to them. I just needed to prove, especially being a freshman, that I could pitch.”
Mission accomplished.
That same resolve is evident in her tenure with the Beverly Bandits Premier Hardin team during the fall. George finished the fall with 113 strikeouts in 103.1 innings pitched and posted a 0.75 earned run average.
“I thought I needed improvement, actually. We had a meeting during the winter of our overall fall performance with Kyle and our assistant coaches. He was like, what would you improve? And I just felt like I needed to improve my ERA. Yeah, it was good, but it could definitely be better.”
George has also taken this mindset into her work with her pitching coach Morgan Melloh. Possessing a rise ball that is as good as they come, it would be easy for George to rely solely on that pitch. Instead, she has worked diligently on her curve and screw balls and has put in work on developing her change up.
“I think I focus a little bit more on my spin rather than my speed because if they hit the spin, it’s just going to be a ground out or a pop fly. But if it doesn’t move and it’s just fast and they get a bat on the ball, then it can go. I realize I don’t have to strike everybody out and can focus more on the spin.”
The idea of not having to strike out every batter has heightened since joining the Beverly Bandits team due to the skill of the players behind her.
“So, I felt like I needed to strike everybody out. Like that was my main goal. I needed to get as many strikeouts as I possibly could. And if I didn’t get 14 strikeouts a game, I was upset. But like I learned, having good players on defense, you don’t need strikeouts to win a game. You just need plays and outs. And it’s not so much stress with all the strikeouts.”
Despite the realization that she doesn’t need to strike out every batter, the k’s continue to pile up.
Another area that is piling up in George’s life is mail from coaches throughout the country as they attempt to woo the talented pitcher to their campus.
“It’s pretty crazy. I mean, I saw older girls last year getting mail. And I just never thought that would ever be me. That was never in my mind that I would ever get mail.”
George is mindful of the significance of her recruitment, but like her pitching she has mapped out a plan that will ultimately lead to success.
“Definitely not getting too overconfident about how good I am or how good I need to be, but it’s always in the back of my mind. I think about it all the time because it will be here before you know it.”
Sept. 1, 2025, is the date when the Class of 2027 can officially receive offers from colleges. George has an eye on that date but is focused on the immediate future.
“I definitely think I’d like to pick up hitting again for travel because I didn’t hit during the fall. I would like for us to make it farther in California (PGF National Championship) this year than we did last year. That would be a good team goal.”
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